The idea of shared workspaces is not new. Corporations and institutions have employed "hoteling" concepts for decades.
What's new is the scale of these projects. Large corporations like GlaxoSmithKline and CBRE are implementing "first come first serve"-type workplace concepts across entire floors and buildings—all in an effort to use their space more effectively and, in CBRE's case, reduce rent costs.
The LA Times yesterday reported on CBRE's new 200-person headquarters in Los Angeles, which occupies the top two floors of the 26-story 400 South Hope tower. All 200 occupants, from the executives to the brokers to the admin. staff, work in a completely "untethered" atmosphere, where assigned desks and offices are replaced with a variety flexible workspaces (traditional workstations, small private rooms, conference rooms, lobby space, etc.). The office is designed to encourage interaction and collaboration, with large common areas and collaboration "neighborhoods" (clusters of workstations).
LA Times' Roger Vincent writes:
"Desktop computers were replaced with laptops that can be stored in lockers in the new office. Upon arriving, employees collect their telephone headsets, laptops and key files. They then head to one of 10 "neighborhoods" where employees doing similar tasks such as legal work or property management cluster. Or they can set up in the heart of the office near the front door that looks like a cross between an upscale hotel lobby and a coffee bar.
Workstations have telephones, keyboards and monitors that employees plug into, and they can sit, stand or even walk on a treadmill while they work. There are media-equipped conference rooms for meetings and small booths for making private phone calls."
Read the full LA Times article.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
2009 Judging Panel
A Matthew H. Johnson, PE Associate Principal Simpson Gumpertz & HegerWaltham, Mass. B K. Nam Shiu, SE, PEVP Walker Restoration Consultants Elgin, Ill. C David P. Callan, PE, CEM, LEED APSVPEnvironmental Systems DesignChicago D Ken Osmun, PA, DBIA, LEED AP Group President, ConstructionWight & Company Darien, Ill.
| Aug 11, 2010
Inspiring Offices: Office Design That Drives Creativity
Office design has always been linked to productivity—how many workers can be reasonably squeezed into a given space—but why isn’t it more frequently linked to creativity? “In general, I don’t think enough people link the design of space to business outcome,” says Janice Linster, partner with the Minneapolis design firm Studio Hive.
| Aug 11, 2010
BIM school, green school: California's newest high-performance school
Nestled deep in the Napa Valley, the city of American Canyon is one of a number of new communities in Northern California that have experienced tremendous growth in the last five years. Located 42 miles northeast of San Francisco, American Canyon had a population of just over 9,000 in 2000; by 2008, that figure stood at 15,276, with 28% of the population under age 18.
